Night terrors
by Kat-The-Lone-Wolf
Summary: Human GLaDOS AU. Writing fluffy romance isn't exactly my strong suit, so i apologize. Enjoy!


"Imagine Person A having a nightmare in the dead of night and screaming as loud as they can and Person B rushing over from the apartment across the hall in just their underwear. They calm down Person A and Person A seems to be more surprised that Person B wears glasses and looks hot in them than the fact that they're almost nude." (Source, )

Summary: Human!GLaDOS AU. GLaDOS will be referred to as 'Gladys.' My first Fanfiction for ChellDOS-Cember, I'll try to keep 'em coming. Enjoy!

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Chell's relationship with her neighbor down the hall was fairly standard, but nothing too special. Said neighbor was called Gladys, and she was quite the interesting person. She mostly kept herself hidden away in her apartment doing… something. If one listened closely, they might hear something akin to a small explosion from time to time. When asked about it, she would simply say that it was 'science in the making' and close the door in your face.

Chell was an odd exception. Now, she was still victim to Gladys's sarcastic remarks and comments about her supposed 'low I.Q.,' but she was one of the few people Gladys wouldn't slam the door on. The woman would actually talk for a little while, despite Chell's lack of response.

Chell didn't talk very much, or… at all. She _could_ , but almost never did. The most she ever said was very simple things, like yes or no, if she absolutely had to. Most of her conversations just consisted of nodding, shaking her head, or making different expressions. Gladys, however, talked enough for the both of them. If they ever got into a conversation, she would ramble on about one thing or another, and learned not to get frustrated when Chell didn't respond. So needless to say, they had a standard friendship that Chell found herself quite enjoying at times.

It wasn't until one seemingly normal night that everything changed.

It was late, maybe one or two in the morning, when Chell had jolted awake, a scream ripped from her throat. She was prone to vivid nightmares, but had learned how to control her reactions most of the time. This one had been worse than the others, though, as it had caused such an extreme reaction. She sat up, shaking slightly for a moment, trying to recover. She didn't have even three minutes before she heard loud thudding coming down the hall, and her door opening rather loudly. Shit, had she forgot to lock it? She looked over, and in a blur of white, Gladys was at her bedside. She wasn't sure if she should be confused or angry at this woman for bursting into her apartment without warning. She looked up into Gladys's face, and felt any trace of frustration drain from her body.

Gladys's hair was rather messy- something almost unheard of from the normally well-kept woman. She had on slightly crooked glasses, and was wearing… barely anything. She was wearing fairly standard black underwear, which Chell assumed she had been sleeping in. She felt her mouth go dry, swallowing nervously and silently looking to Gladys for some kind of explanation.

"S-Sorry… I heard you scream… Well, I heard _someone_ scream, I couldn't be sure if it was you but it was coming from over here so naturally I was mildly concerned and confused, you really don't talk much- or at all, so I thought you were _dying_ or something, honestly, it sounded like it. Are you okay?" Gladys had broken out into a rant, seeming to be out of breath and tripping over her words. She had been worried? Chell considered her a friend, one of her only friends really, but she never thought the other woman cared this much.

She nodded in response, giving a slightly awkward smile to try and reassure Gladys that she was alright. The nightmare had certainly shaken her, but right now she seemed much more bothered by Gladys, and those glasses. She couldn't quite explain it, but for lack of a better word, Gladys was… cute. This incredibly sarcastic woman with dark humor and questionable pastimes, was cute. Chell never thought she'd have those words cross her mind.

"Oh… well, you really shouldn't scream like that; you scared me half to death. And maybe lock your door at night- I don't trust half the people living in this building. Luckily I was here for you." Chell couldn't help but smile a little at Gladys's ego, watching the older woman puff her chest out a little and smirk. It was something that others would probably find annoying, but she found that Gladys's little quirks had really grown on her after awhile.

"Apologies for my appearance. When you think someone you mildly care about is dying, you often don't have time to get dressed… What's that smile for? Oh. The glasses. How about this? This stays our little secret." Chell only grinned more at this, carefully extending a hand to fix Gladys's glasses so they sat straight on the bridge of her nose. She found herself… mildly distracted by Gladys's near nakedness, but decided to just ignore it. She wasn't about to stare like a creep, and so long as Gladys didn't mind, she planned on treating the woman no differently. Although maybe it would be best if she got some clothes on; it got cold in the building at night.

"What? Oh right. Clothing. Honestly, it's overrated. Unless it's needed for warmth, I see no use for it. Especially if I'm alone. But if it bothers you, I can leave." Gladys shifted slightly, looking to the door then back to Chell. She seemed a little reluctant to leave. She was putting the pieces together, figuring out that Chell more than likely had a nightmare- a pretty bad one at that if she had screamed that loudly. Chell also, strangely enough, found that Gladys's presence was comforting, in a weird way. Maybe it was because she was fairly certain that she could kill a man with her pinky if she wanted. Yeah… that was probably it. But still, it made her feel like she had nothing to worry about. Like she might be safe from these night terrors for once. She reached out, grabbing Gladys's hand and carefully squeezing it before meeting her eye. A silent question of 'Stay with me?'

Gladys raised her eyebrows a little, seeming surprised by the implied request. "You… want me to stay?" She prompted, waiting for a confirmation. Chell nodded, showing that Gladys had understood her perfectly. The older woman gave an almost sheepish grin.

"I… I can do that. Would you like to sleep on your couch? Or should I stay up? I figure you'd rather not just have me watch you all night long. If you do, that's mildly creepy." Chell shook her head, patting a space on the bed beside her. It was a fairly large bed, and she trusted Gladys not to try anything. Besides, she wasn't helpless. If she did try anything, she'd have some broken fingers to deal with.

Gladys blinked in slight shock, but gave a small shrug before carefully moving to pull the sheets away so she could get in. "You know, I'm honestly surprised you want me to do this. Not that I mind, of course. I just never imagined you as the cuddly type." Chell simply smiled, moving to lie back down. She made no move to make any contact, but the sound of another human breathing next to her, and the slight warmth that came off of her… it was comforting. She closed her eyes, drifting off much faster then she had expected.

The next morning, she slowly woke up, feeling the first rays of sunshine land on her through the window. However, that wasn't the only warmth she had. She hadn't noticed right away, but during the night she had snuggled up to Gladys, her face nuzzled up to the back of the older woman's neck. Her face lit up with a dark red blush, and she was torn on either staying put and snuggling closer, or jolting away with embarrassment. Gladys hadn't moved a single inch the whole night, and she wasn't even sure if the woman had fallen asleep.

"…Go back to bed. It's early enough, and you seem comfortable." A muffled voice was heard, and Chell tensed up for a moment. So she was awake. Yet, Gladys seemed like she didn't care very much about Chell cuddling up to her, and she was right, it was pretty early... Chell smiled a little, snuggling closer and closing her eyes. They should do this more often.


End file.
